Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – CIA chief Bill Burns said China’s investment debt was behind Sri Lanka’s bankruptcy. According to him, it is a warning to other countries who are also making ‘stupid bets’ similar to China.
“The Chinese have a lot of weight to throw at them and they can make a very attractive case for their investment,” Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum, citing AFPThursday (21/7/2022).
He stressed countries should look to today’s Sri Lanka which owes a lot to China, has made some very stupid bets about their economic future. As a result, the State of Ceylon suffered considerable consequences, both economically and politically.
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“That, I think, should be an important lesson for many other (country) players, not only in the Middle East or South Asia, but around the world. Open your eyes wide about such transactions,” he added.
Meanwhile, China has invested heavily in Sri Lanka, which is strategically located in the Indian Ocean and outside India. Sri Lanka has borrowed heavily from China for infrastructure projects.
In 2017, Sri Lanka was unable to repay a $1.4 billion loan for the construction of a port in the country’s south and was forced to lease the facility to a Chinese company for 99 years.
Near the port is Rajapaksa Airport, built with a US$200 million loan to China, which is so rarely used that at one point it was unable to cover its electricity bill.
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It turns out that 4 countries have entered the ‘Batman Trap’ of China’s debt, there is Indonesia?
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